Flashpoint: The Outsider #3Review

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The Outsider battles the Martian Manhunter.

By Jesse Schedeen

The Outsider is one of the more intriguing characters to pop up during Flashpoint, and that remains through the conclusion of his tie-in mini-series. Here the character battles the Flashpoint version of Martian Manhunter, one far more vengeful and bloodthirsty than the traditional version. It will be interesting to see how much of this interpretation sticks around after Flashpoint, especially since the change is far less upsetting than might be expected. Perhaps like Aquaman, J'onn is a character who just needed a little more darkness about him.

The art isn't spectacular here. It provides the proper level of darkness and mood, but isn't really framed to take proper advantage of the fight scenes between Desai and J'onn. On the other hand, James Robinson does some of his best work in recent years with The Outsider. This series captures the charm and writing quality of Starman that hasn't always been apparent in his more mainstream efforts. I do wish the story had attempted to delve deeper into Desai's mind and motivations. We never really see beneath the calm, cool veneer he debuted with. But in terms of pacing and plotting the series managed to stay more consistent and satisfying throughout than most of the tie-ins.